Anton was back limping between them and Max had been oddly quiet for a while, but Chris found it fairly pleasant to just listen to the bird calls and amble through the jungle. Legs aching (backs to for Fistrinn and Chris who had carried Anton further than they thought possible) they trekked on. The ground had been sloping downward for a while and was cooler down here where the suns couldn't reach, and Chris was relieved to have finally stopped sweating. The air smelled less sweet and more stagnant down here, like water that had stood for too long and Chris wrinkled his nose against the smell.
"It's not nice, is it?" Max agreed, rolling his neck and pausing to adjust the backpack for a moment.
"Want to swap with me or Fistrinn?" Chris offered, nodding at the backpack.
Fistrinn gave him an almost haughty look,
"I can continue, you may swap if you feel so inclined." He interrupted. Chris narrowed his eyes on him, having enough of the Vulcan's stodgy attitude,
"Oh I'm fine." Chris assured him, totally lying, "Max just looked like he needed a break."
Max eyed the two warily,
"Really you two you canny start-"
"Water!" Anton gasped. Frowning down at him Chris followed his gaze to spot the ghoulish green moss growing underneath the vegetation. The trees with the blue leaves had faded into smaller looking yellow shrubs with grey flowers that looked like limp rat fur, but there were still a few trees about. These trees however were much taller and their trunks a lot thicker, thicker than Fistrinn Anton and Chris combined with a spiral pattern of vines that disappeared into the treetops. He could see larger vines encased in pretty white flowers tumbling down from large green leaves that shadowed them like umbrellas from the cruel sun. Anton was right though, the moss was damp, damp enough to be dripping which meant there was water nearby.
"This would be good news had Miss McCoy not disappeared with any medical supplies that could purify the water for us." Fistrinn remarked blandly. They had tried to ration but it was simply too hot to be effective and were now running low, not dangerously low, but low enough to worry Chris. Sighing to himself he shook his head, the resignation in his voice making Max frown.
"Let's follow it, the source of a river is always upstream right?" he asked tiredly. They'd been walking for hours and with little sleep last night they were all exhausted, even Fistrinn was looking a little tired by this point. With no other plan, his friends agreed to follow. They'd been doing that a lot Chris realised, following him, trusting him. It gave him confidence to know they had confidence in him and Chris wondered if his dad would be proud of what they'd achieved so far. He'd learnt from his father's stories, knew that he couldn't hope to survive in space alone but every now and then he just had to trust his gut instincts and get others to play along, so he'd tried to inspire the kind of respect and loyalty among them as his father once had with his crew. They didn't have to travel far before they heard the crashing sounds of water and Chris saw with some surprise that there was a waterfall leading down into a deep dark hole in a clearing. Anton's green eyes had widened and he regarded the waterfall with awe, mumbling in Russian under his breath.
"I don't know what ya mean, but I second that." Max breathed. It was beautiful. The water was clear and crystalline blue despite tumbling over dirt and rock, and the cool spray was chilling on their skin as they stood by the edge.
"How far down do you think it-"Chris's question was cut off by the sound of a horn, a low pitched drawn out noise that made their ears ring and their muscles tense. Fistrinn and Chris drew their phasers, keeping a tight grip on Anton as Max stepped up beside them with a vicious grin, looking ready to use his own weapon in a way Chris found slightly disturbing. Humanoid aliens began emerging from the trees and Chris felt his stomach drop. They were white, almost translucent with all of their organs and a simplified web of veins on display, ice blue eyes piercing through them. They had no ears but did have mouths, complete with a set of knife like black teeth that looked sharp and deadly. They were taller than even Fistrinn (who was roughly six foot four) and holding spears and bows and arrows, covered by some sort of animal skin. It was a mixture of men and women which surprised Chris; most civilisations this primitive had a hierarchy where women were inferior to men yet there they stood beside the opposite sex wielding their own weapons. The only way Chris could tell they were women was the fact that their animal skins were fashioned into skirts and dresses that covered breasts and rears slightly rounder than their male counterparts.
"We're way outnumbered, lower your phasers and try to be friendly." Chris muttered from the corner of his mouth, turning his phaser towards the ground slowly and keeping it held in a loose grip by his thigh. Fistrinn shot him an annoyed glance as Max hesitated to obey.
"And if they're hostile?" he asked. Chris shot them both a look as what appeared to be the leader stepped forward, a headdress of thin wooden shavings woven into some sort of crown on his head. They all had platinum blonde almost white hair he realised, all fashioned into different styles with some short and some long – it gave them a sense of individual identity he realised.
"We are not the trespassers here." His English was flawless and his voice strangely smooth and whispery. Chris swallowed thickly, having no idea how to handle first contact and shooting a look at Fistrinn for help, who simply stared back at him impassively. Chris felt irritation bubble up inside him – so now he stopped chipping in?
"We didn't mean to trespass, we're sorry, we don't know the layout of this planet." He apologised sincerely, heart beating wildly.
The alien tilted his head,
"If it truly was a mistake then you need not fear us." He promised, "Your friend is injured and you are all tired, I sense no threat from you." Max nodded once and both Fistrinn and Chris glared at him slightly, making him shrink back with a sheepish smile. "We are the Aran, and I am Kelon, leader of my people." His introduction was complete with a hand gesture Chris tried to imitate, struggling to keep Anton upright as he did so and more than sure he looked like he'd been electrocuted.
"Nice to meet you…my name is Chris. These are my friends Max, Fistrinn and Anton." He replied with what he hoped was a friendly smile, "I don't suppose you've seen two females around here have you? One's got hair like mine, the others got dark hair like his?" he jerked a thumb at Fistrinn and found him desperately hoping Kelon would say yes. Elizabeth and Kaiyo had been gone for hours and they were no closer to finding them while wondering helplessly around the jungle. Kelon however shook his head and crushed his hopes.
"My apologies but I have seen no one like you, you are the first of your kind to venture here." He informed them, "Come, join us in our home so we may get to know one another better." He invited. Chris glanced at Fistrinn and Max who simply stared at him, waiting for his reply. He swallowed thickly, forcing a smile and nodding once, feeling the weight of the decision push the air from his lungs.
"That sounds like a great idea." He agreed, not seeing any other option while they were outnumbered and outgunned. Fistrinn was incredibly unhappy, covered in muck now chilly rather than sweaty and aching despite his endurance being fairly high - he did not fancy following mysterious aliens down into the ground behind a waterfall where they were vulnerable to attack.
"I believe this to be a mistake." He muttered, going ignored by Chris and Max. Chris had made it a point to ignore him recently he'd noticed, finding a threat to his authority maybe? Fistrinn had been encroaching on that particular territory, trying for a slow take over to prevent any more failures on behalf of the human teen. There was a whole village behind the waterfall; wooden huts with chimneys and a large stone stage in the centre of their small civilisation gave the place a community feel. Smaller Aran's, children they guessed, stopped running around playing tag to watch them pass by, whispering to one another too quietly for them to hear as the adults watched curiously. The village grew quiet but Kelon didn't seem bothered, handing his bow and arrows off to a friend to take away before leading them into the largest and most grandiose hut decorated with some of those vines covered with white blossom they'd seen earlier. The furniture was simple and wooden, a table and chairs, a low-down bed and a small set of shelves holding souvenirs or talismans of some sort. The particularly disturbing animal head gave Chris a bad vibe but Kelon didn't spare it a glance before gesturing to the wooden bath in the corner.
"You may clean up, I must organise the returning party if you'll excuse me." He left calmly and they slowly lowered Anton into a chair.
"How do we know the waters safe enough to wash in though?" Chris thought aloud. Max apparently hadn't though that far ahead and had splashed some in his face with a sigh.
"It's sort of sweet." He announced.
"Max!" Chris and Anton groaned in unison and he frowned, perplexed. Fistrinn pinched the bridge of his nose, wondering how on earth his father had put up with these humans. Personally, he much preferred New Vulcan, the home of logic and science where emotion was not an irritating factor in cognitive processes. They waited a few minutes, watching Max carefully for any signs of sickness or a rash of some sort before Chris gave in, moving over to wash away the dried up sweat on the back of his neck with a sigh. The cool water was refreshing and it was nice to rid himself of the sweat and dirt the past few days had encrusted onto his skin. Feeling cooler and cleaner he'd changed into his jeans and a grey shirt, humming contentedly before helping Anton clean up a little and slip on a pair of jeans too. The Russian boy had thanked him quietly and after a sip of water they sat in silence but it was tense and heavy, awkward.
"Kelon seems nice." Max said finally, trying to make conversation.
"Yet his intentions remain unclear." Fistrinn butted in with a disapproving look that made Chris's skin crawl with disgust. He was getting a little tired of being judged by the Vulcan boy if he was honest.
"Yet if he wanted to hurt us we'd be dead already." Chris pointed out, "We're outnumbered, out gunned, there's nowhere to run when you don't know where you're running to so this was logically the only option."
"Logic dictates we could have taken them out easily with our advanced weaponary and escaped." Fistrinn retorted, "One of many logical decisions you have failed to make." Max tried to butt in to cool things down but Chris moved to stand in front of Fistrinn with a glare, fists clenching at his sides.
"Oh yeah? I haven't seen you offering up alternative ideas." He retorted waspishly, irritation spiking through him.
"You are our leader, I trusted your judgement, it appears I was wrong to do so." Fistrinn countered, making Chris clench his fists, "Miss Sulu and Miss McCoy are missing, Mr Chekov is injured and under your care Mr Scott still managed to test water that may or may not have caused illness. We have also been ejected onto a planet-"
"I don't need a list of my mistakes!" Chris snapped angrily. The silence in the room was deafening with both boys glaring at one another heatedly. Max was trying to gain their attention again and break up the argument before it could escalate further but the words were stuck in his mouth. Everything Fistrinn had said was technically true, but it clearly hurt Chris to hear it.
"You are not your father." Fistrinn said finally, and the venom in his tone pushed Chris over the edge.
"I know that!" he exploded, "I know I'm nowhere near as great as him or my grandfather or Pike! I get that, okay? I've made mistakes, I've done things that aren't logical but I'm trying my best! If we're going to survive this then we-"
"If we're going to survive this then perhaps we should stop listening to your flawed ideas." Fistrinn interrupted. Chris felt white hot fury boil through him at that but in his head he could see his father telling him to find another way. However, the Kirk family trait of explosive and impulsive anger won out and he was unable to resist from saying,
"And you're perfect, are you? If I recall being Vulcan doesn't make you perfect Fistrinn, in fact, your half Vulcan dad made quite a few mistakes too right? It's only logical that you could inherit some of that stupidity."
The words tasted like acid and he regretted them the moment they'd left his mouth, even more so when Fistrinn knocked him to the floor with a single punch. Max cried out his name and hurriedly got between them while Anton sat quietly in shock. Chris's jaw throbbed and he slowly rubbed the sore spot where Fistrinn's fist had connected, staring up at the Vulcan and finding a myriad of emotions in his eyes. Anger, betrayal, hurt, all of them hurting Chris more. He hadn't meant to be so cruel and as Max helped him to his feet he knew he had to make it right.
"I shouldn't have said that, I'm sorry." He said quietly.
Fistrinn glanced at him but looked away again, staying silent and unresponsive as the guilt gnawed at his chest.
"We're all a little frustrated and afraid, but we don't fight, remember?" Max said firmly, looking between the two boys as Chris nodded solemnly.
"I know, it was stupid, heat of the moment." He insisted, "I'm sorry Fistrinn I really am." Fistrinn slowly nodded, unclenching his fists and releasing a slow breath.
"Do you think our parents are really coming?" Anton asked quietly. The boys looked at each other, finding comfort in the anxiety in each other's eyes.
"Yes." Fistrinn said finally, nodding once, "Christopher's plan was sure to work. They will have read the message and will be on their way."
"Yeah!" Max agreed enthusiastically. He was grinning again in that way that was infectious, blue eyes sparkling and damp hair sticking up at odd angles where he'd ran his hand through it. "It's okay to say it ya know, I miss my folks to." He said, shrugging half a shoulder, "My ma's having a baby, I've got a little brother or sister to be gettin' back to." Chris eyed him in understanding.
"I have a little sister too." He said quietly, "Fia…man she drives me mad but I miss her." They shared a moment of silence before Chris drew himself up to his fullest height, seeing his little sister in his mind and her promise that when he came back she'd have drawn him lots of pictures of what she'd done over the summer. "That's why we need to stick together, we got this far working as a team and…maybe we're still working out the kinks, but if we're going to get through this we need to keep working together." He said encouragingly, "From now on no more fights, just teamwork, yeah?" The boys nodded in agreement and Fistrinn inclined his head,
"For the record, I do believe that was the decision of a good leader."
Chris gave him a thankful nod in reply as Kelon came wondering in, watching them through icy blue eyes that were devoid of any emotion. They'd been invited to the evening bonfire and were currently now sat around with some of their own rations of food (some of the last they had) while the Aran roasted a large animal the size of a buffalo on the fire, singing and dancing and playing drums as their children ran around the fire and fought with sticks. Kelon had explained some of their customs, telling them the drums were to ward off demons while the fire would invite in good spirits, and the songs were ancient songs passed down from their ancestors. It was all fascinating and Chris found himself slowly relaxing in the communal atmosphere, his gut telling him this was a good place to be. Max had wondered off to play with the children (being a big kid himself) and was showing them a trick with the fire, using a burning stick and a spritz of the body spray Kaiyo had packed to make the flames grow.
Anton had had his leg bound to some wooden splints and was quite happily chatting to a nearby woman about how a lighter worked back on Earth. Kelon gestured for Chris to join him, claiming he wanted to show him something, and Chris trustingly followed him through a glowing gap in the cave wall to another cavernous room. This one however held a soft white glow emitted from a large tree. Chris stared at it in awe, watching its branches bend and bow in the cavern as the neon white blossoms fell in tangled wisps to the base of the thick trunk. It was a smaller version of the trees up above he realised, only handmade wreaths of flowers littered the tree trunk.
"The Aran tree, what my people are named after." Kelon informed him, placing a single red flower at the base of the tree and clasping his hands together. Chris felt as though he were intruding on a private moment in the cave, the muffled sounds of the bonfire outside reaching his ears. He felt oddly relaxed here however and didn't want to leave just yet.
"It's peaceful here." He said quietly, smiling at Kelon who smiled back and nodded once in a very Fistrinn like way.
"This tree houses the thoughts of my people. We are one half of a telepathic species, which was how we learnt your language so fast. The others ventured into the outside world and wandered under the sun for so long they calcified in the sunlight, they were so silent the next generation were born without mouths. The Aran however stayed underground, only venturing out when necessary, but despite our community there are times when my people need a space of their own to think. This tree can take your thoughts and those enlightened enough may receive a reply from the Gods." Kelon explained to him, and proceeded to instruct him to breathe deeply and clear his mind. Chris frowned but did as he was asked, taking slow deep breaths and ignoring the chill of the cave on his bare arms. Though it took a few minutes his mind began to fill with whispers. He didn't understand the language, but as they blended and danced in his mind he found the noise oddly beautiful.
"That's incredible." He breathed, wondering how it worked and if Fistrinn would have an answer for him later. Kelon simply smiled in response as Chris worked over the information he'd been given in his mind, slowly starting to frown in confusion, "Wait, you say you're one half of a species but…the ones that calcified, do you know what happened to them?" he asked. Kelon nodded, suddenly looking grave.
"They are the Nia, they live out in the sunlight now having adapted to it. We have been at odds with them for centuries, long before I was leader of my people. They will attack randomly at times and in response we defend ourselves and drive them back to their homes, they want the Aran tree for themselves to boost their power, to reach out telepathically in order to leave this world." He replied. Chris felt his stomach churn nauseously, a lump rising in his throat as his brows pinched together. Kelon noticed the worried look in his expression and Chris forced himself to speak past the bile rising in his throat.
"If they found any outsiders, what would they do to them?" he asked. Kelon frowned (which was impressive considering he didn't have eyebrows) and took a moment to think about it. The silence stretched on for a moment but it felt like a lifetime to Chris as he waited with baited breath.
"I do not truly know, but I believe it would be reasonable to assume they would use them for their own gains. The Nia aim to find a way off of this planet and an outsider could help with that." Kelon reasoned. Chris felt his breath catch in his throat, gut feeling telling him this wasn't good, not at all. Elizabeth and Kaiyo had been taken and had been gone for so long…with no way of knowing what was happening to them it made Chris all the more anxious to find them.
"The females I spoke of earlier, our other friends, there were signs of a struggle and we haven't been able to find them, if these Nia have them we need to find them. I won't ask you to provoke an attack on your people Kelon, but I'd like to impose on your hospitality a little more by asking for help in finding these Nia." Chris said determinedly. Kelon blinked impassively, glancing towards the Aran tree as Chris waited with baited breath. He had promised to try and look after Lizzie, Lizzie who had helped Max, helped Anton, helped him. Kaiyo who had made the nervous Russian boy feel so at ease with them, who had slotted seamlessly into their team from the get go and made an effort to ensure everyone else did too. Chris's fingers automatically went to the wound on the back of his head, and other than being a little tender he found it was no longer paining him much. Kelon slowly nodded his head, and Chris felt his muscles relax slightly.
"I appreciate your diplomacy. Tomorrow I will have Nagala and Gimitro show you the way…I do not know what brought you to this planet, but I see a good spirit in you, Christopher Kirk." Kelon said calmly.
Chris chuckled lightly,
"Thank you. We're not really supposed to be here, we got into trouble and had to escape somewhere and this was the nearest planet." He confessed, "We sent a message back home, our parents should be coming…we just have to wait."
"Faith got you this far." Kelon said, "It make sense that you should hold onto that faith in order to move forward." Chris wanted to scoff but nodded slightly, trying to look appreciative as they headed back out. Fistrinn gave him a curious glance and Chris moved over to his side to inform him of Kelon's hospitality as the Aran's moved to kneel around the fire, humming an ancient sounding song. Max had paint all over his face where the children had painted him and Anton chuckled at his appearance.
"You look like ze clowns from ze old circuses." he teased. Max frowned, puffing out his chest indignantly,
"This is the face paint of a brave warrior!" he whispered furiously, "I'm ya real life Xena!"
"Xena was a warrior Princess, Max." Chris reminded him with a smirk. "Huh, Princess Maxwell Scott the 2nd, has a nice ring to it." Max groaned quietly as his friends laughed quietly at him. The knowledge that they'd soon be all together again, whether for better or worse, was comforting. Together they stood a fighting chance, together they could survive.